With a win over Matt Brown at UFC Fight Night in San Jose, UFC veteran Robbie Lawler will move into main contention for a fight with welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.

While Lawler says that's a big deal, he's also looking to put on a show for his fans, who haven't seen him since a May TKO win over Jake Ellenberger.

“It's huge (moving into contention for a title fight) but, more or less, I want to put on a show and show what I'm capable of,” Lawler said.

'Ruthless' and Hendricks fought for the welterweight belt in March, with Hendricks picking up a unanimous decision at UFC 171, but Lawler is convinced he's the main man in the division -- only he's got more work to do than Hendricks.

He has to prove it.

“All the hard work and dedication is starting to pay off now and I want my fans to know now that I'm one of the best, if not the best in the world and that's what I'm striving to do,” Lawler said.

This will be the welterweight's third fight of the year, and sixth since the beginning of 2013, and Lawler says his busy schedule means he doesn't have to put tons of hours into training, not that he worries about that.

“I don't really keep track of (my training),” Lawler said. “My coaches usually tell me when to come in. I was already in shape for this fight so I didn't have to log long hours. Everything was fine tuning, sharpening skills and just doing really quick workouts and staying sharp and that's about it.”

Coming into the San Jose, Lawler has won four of five fights and it's fair to say he's feeling pretty good about the state of things on Team Lawler.

“I'm excited about all the work I've put in at American Top Team,” Lawler said. “They've been (helping) me perform at a high level and I have really good training partners and really good coaches that are getting me ready for all the situations that I will have in a fight and that's why I'm winning.”

Lawler says he'll win the fight by moving his feet and taking care of his own business. He's not worried about Brown, to say the least.

“It's not a disrespect to him,” Lawler said. “I worry about myself in the ring; I worry about what I can do and how I can dictate a fight. That's why I'm confident because training camp went really well and I'm looking to showcase my skills.”

PONDERING RETIREMENT

With every fight, Josh Thomson is one step closer to retiring but he's not sure when that will be.

But one thing is for sure, his body is leading him in that direction, slowly, but surely.

“Sometimes you tell yourself, I can stop a little early,” Thomson said to MMAjunkie. “I never told myself that before, and sometimes I try to tell myself, you should rest today, maybe just run or hit pads a little bit and then not go do this or (that). I start thinking, if I can’t make myself do everything I can do to feel prepared, do I love it as much? And I think about it after every fight.”

So, when he faces Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night in San Jose, he's not sure if it will be the last time. But, he knows his opponent couldn’t care less.

“I look at Green as a more dangerous fight than Michael Johnson,” he said. “Am I motivated to fight him? I better be. Otherwise, I’m going to end up walking out of that arena with a loss. You think Bobby gives a crap how high I’m ranked? No. He just wants to get the win. So I’ve just got to take the win from him.”

Whether Thomson wins or loses against Green, he'll continue down a road that's leading him in one particular direction -- towards an end and direction he's not sure of.

“I don’t know if you can really commit (long-term),” Thomson said. “It’s a fight at a time. I feel good enough; I’ve got another two fights in me for sure. I feel like it’s definitely there.”

TIMETABLE

Alexander Gustafsson is looking at five to six weeks of recovery after he tore his meniscus in his right knee, training for the UFC 178 title fight with Jon Jones.

“I was sparring and I felt my knee pop twice, but it didn’t hurt,” Gustafsson told UFC.com. “It just felt strange, I finished training and came home, and then I woke up the next morning and I could barely walk on my right leg. Then I felt the knee right away.”

Either way, Gustafsson will be watching the fight between Jones, and his replacement, Daniel Cormier.

“It’s an interesting matchup,” he said of Jones vs. Cormier. “Both are great athletes, and it’s going to be a tough fight for sure. But Jones has his height and reach advantage over ‘DC,’ so I think that will be the key thing in this fight. I think Jones by decision.”

QUICK HITS

The UFC signed 39-year-old heavyweight Richard Odoms out of Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ and Pete Spratt's Muay Thai Camp in San Antonio. He comes with an 8-1 record and he'll get a chance to show what he can do at UFC 177 when he takes on Ruslan Magomedov ... Nick Diaz is back. After losing to GSP at UFC 158, he went on the retirement plan. UFC president Dana White announced the deal on Twitter. “He's back @nickdiaz209 just signed a new bout agreement 2 fight! Details coming soon.” ... Cormier is flying his favourite pizza delivery guy to his UFC 178 title fight against Jones. Cormier said he'll spring for the flight as long as pizza guy can spring for the hotel.